Seeing as how you already said that it is "fairly stupid" to not use an A/V, I won't repeat it. 
Something to consider: I can understand if there are signs in the log that the A/V, particularly if it is a suite, is causing problems asking the OP to temporarily uninstall it. However, if you do insist on doing that, please ask them to temporarily install MSE and also be sure to activate the Windows Firewall if they are using an all-in-one security solution. Also consider the original post in this thread and the problem Will had with the uninstall. Without a clean uninstall, the OP will likely have a problem installing MSE and may not be able to activate the Windows Firewall.
One of my pet peeves is when analysts (regardless of their specialty, be it a malware, BSOD, or whatever) "impose" their opinion of the A/V on the OP. Over the years I've seen people tell someone who is using an expensive subscription A/V that they didn't like to uninstall it and install one of the free solutions when their A/V wasn't causing any problems.
